Josiah Hughes
Over the course of some Keystone lagers on the back porch of the Straw House — the Sixth Street S.W. home that two of the four members call home — Empty Heads are taking an early afternoon break from recording their debut 7-inch with local producer extraordinaire Luis Ergon. That midday haze is a common theme for the musicians who’ve jokingly described themselves as “brunch rock” in the past.
“I heard someone refer to a band as a brunch rock band once” vocalist-guitarist Tyler Wilson says of the subgenre’s origin. “It’s easygoing you can eat some chicken fingers.”
“No one eats brunch sober either” adds bassist Kyle Prudhomme. “You’re always a little bit fuzzy when you’re eating brunch.”
Over the course of our interview however the band’s members build on the fictional genres explaining that their sound has evolved from brunch rock to slime pop with drummer Dylan Cameron later suggesting they play DUI punk instead of DIY punk.
All jokes aside Empty Heads’ sound is hard to contain with mere genre tags. With contemporary influences in Tenement Ovlov and Unfun (of which Wilson was a member) the band specializes in melodic punk-inflected rock that’s driven by a hard-hitting rhythm section and blanketed in a thick layer of overdriven fuzzed-out guitars. According to Wilson the band’s mandate is to “have the pop sensibility and make it as gross as possible.”
Initially forming as Teerjerker the band’s original lineup saw Wilson’s Sabertooth bandmate Nick Lake on bass. “Me and Nick have always clicked together and written songs together and he’s down for the noise” says Wilson. “He likes the noisy weird shit.”
Shortly after forming Lake moved from Calgary to Vancouver to as Wilson puts it “pursue burrito wrapping and experience true love.” He’s remained a member of the band however — they play locally as a trio with Prudhomme on bass and Lake fills in on second guitar when he can.
The lineup wasn’t the only thing to change as the group opted to retire the Teerjerker moniker last year when a buzzed-about Toronto band called Tearjerker started causing confusion. “The Pitchfork review was the first part” says Wilson. “But the icing on the cake for me was my friend Mike Couvillon from Racket said ‘Dude you’re No. 1 on the CJSW this week’ and I was like really? And I looked at it and I was just like the buck stops here. That’s our hometown university radio so it was like fuck this.”
Though Teerjerker was a well-received name the group opted to switch it up before things got too serious. Fortunately Lake was sitting on the idea of Empty Heads all along. “Nick just had this knack for names” Cameron recalls. “When we told him we were going to change the name he just had it as a backup. And then he said he actually liked this name better than Teerjerker.”
Working as Empty Heads the band paid homage to their original name with the release of their Teerjerker demo last year. Since then they’ve been playing shows on a regular basis completing a small tour and performing in the city. Cameron recalls an offer they got from Extreme Tour Ian a promoter for the “faith-based” Extreme Tour. “He sent me five pages worth of information about this beautiful Christian-backed tour” says Cameron. “In the email it specifically said no cursing and no sexually explicit lyrics will be accepted.”
Though they don’t plan on cleaning up their act for the Extreme Tour Empty Heads are open-minded when it comes to booking shows. “We’ve actually just chosen to play the weirdest shows in the world” Wilson admits pointing out that they’ve played a last-minute bar show in -30 C weather and the Drum and Monkey Toy Drive adding that performances at a video game night and The Plaza’s regular talk show aren’t out of the question.
“We’re about to play a dance competition” says Prudhomme referencing this weekend’s slot at Jonathan Toubin’s Soul Clap. As hardcore punk kids playing feedback-drenched rock music Empty Heads can sort of fit on any bill even if they stick out. “To be honest with you I think people are fucking confused when they see us.”
Audiences are surely going to get used to Empty Heads’ unique aesthetic as the band is quickly making plans. The 7-inch they recorded on the day of our interview is miles ahead of the tape with Ergon’s production ear adding some heft to the band’s inherent grit. The record is set to arrive as a split release between Calgary’s own Debt Offensive label and San Antonio’s Trends Die and will be followed by some extreme touring — just not on the Extreme Tour.
